Dragon Age: New Vegas
by King Zairak
Summary: Mishaps at the Lucky 38 and the Hawke Estate cause two worlds to collide in interesting ways. A crack in the Fade brings back the dead and Mr. House and Meredith plot their return. With Hawke and the Courier missing, Their companions must take charge.
1. Chapter 1

**The following assumes you've at least beaten New Vegas and the three current (As of this writing) FNV expansions and Dragon Age II, otherwise SPOILERS!**

**Lucky 38, New Vegas, Year 2283**

"With the battle that could decide the very fate of Vegas looming over our heads, you sure find a lot of time to go on random adventures out of the Mojave." Cass said to the Courier, who had just returned from Big Mountain, and had called everyone in for a meeting.

"And yet no matter where I go, I can't seem to find something that doesn't need my immediate attention, it's like this world can't find someone else to solve its problems."

"My old man knew someone like that too, apparently, some even called him the 'Chosen One' believe me, it's not just you. So, who's the fancy armor for?"

"Found it in the Big Empty, belonged to someone named Christine I met at Sierra Madre, figured I'd give it to Veronica."

"Christine? Did you see here again?" Veronica came walking in, her voice eager, "And why do you keep running into people from my past? Have you been reading my diary?"

"She was there before I got there, she's probably still at the Madre, but that's neither here nor there," The Courier took a deep breath, "All these seemingly disjointed events seem to point to two things, another courier with the Old World flag on his back, and the Divide. It all seems too coincidental, like he knew I'd be in those places."

"So another vacation then, boss?" Raul asked.

"Not right now, I feel like this other courier is going to contact me soon, right now, we figure out how to use the tech I found to help us win this war. I can transport it all from Big MT pretty easily with this." The Courier brought out the Big Mountain Transportalponder, their "prize" for keeping the Think Tank out of the Mojave. "Unfortunately it only can send one person, and I have no idea how it works, so we can't make more, unless…"

"Unless Veronica and I poke around inside and figure out how it works?" Arcade asked.

"Well, unless you want Lily and Rex to do it, but I don't think that'll end well." Veronica joked.

"Exactly, but It's a sensitive piece of machinery, I'm worried about what will happen if…"

CRUNCH! For some reason Rex took it upon himself to turn the Transportalponder into a chew toy. And the whole suite began being filled with a white light.

"That can't be good…" the first words Boone said all day.

**Hawke Estate, City of Kirkwall, Year 9:37 Dragon**

"You're about to go on the run and you make a stop at your house? Hawke, you've got to be smarter than that." Aveline warned.

"Aveline, how long have you known me? And how long have I been known to play it safe? Besides, I've got supplies for everyone stored here, and none of us can stay."

Varric chimed in, "If I know anything about storytelling, this seems like a convenient way to get us all in one place for something big to happen."

"Something 'big' already happened; we just killed both the Knight Commander and the First Enchanter. Not to mention that fool mage's crime." Fenris added.

"I'm right here you know, I did what had to be done." Anders replied.

"You murdered a few dozen innocents and showed everyone just how terrifying a mage can be. I hope it was worth it."

"Everyone just stop, this is getting us nowhere!" Merrill shouted.

"Enchantment!" Sandal's voice caused everyone to turn, and see he had somehow gotten ahold of Meredith's sword.

"Oh no, Sandal, be a good boy and put that down…" Hawke slowly stepped toward him, but the sword broke in half without warning, causing a red light to fill the estate.

"That can't be good…"

**Mojave Wasteland? Time and Date unknown.**

Veronica woke up in a daze, "Did I sample Cass' moonshine again? My head is killing me…" She put her bare hand up to her forehead trying to recollect the past events, and dull the pain, only to notice something unfamiliar as she put her hand on the ground.

"Grass. And lots of it…" Too adjusted to the post apocalyptic desert of the Mojave, she didn't expect to see it grow so plentifully, but something was off, interwoven among the grass was patches of wasteland that looked all too familiar, and it all started coming back.

"That transporta-thingy! Something must've happened when Rex took a chunk from it! But what? I need to find the courier and…and, where is everyone?" Her eyes darted around for signs of life, and saw the body of a (hopefully) unconscious Boone. "Crap! Boone! Don't be dead!"

She ran to his body and gave him a good punch (which, if Arcade were here, he would say is just about the worst thing to do), Boone was startled awake, and pulled his knife almost as a reflex. "Whoa! Boone, you need to chill! I wasn't trying to hurt you…much."

"You need to be more careful, this could've ended badly."

"But it didn't, and I'm stuck with the only person who talks less than ED-E. Anyway, I don't think we're in the Mojave anymore, or we are but…well it's hard to explain, so just look!"

Boone picked his sunglasses off the ground and put them back on, took a look around to see the plant life around them, "Oh! It's so beautiful, you're speechless, huh? Wait, that's you all the time."

"This isn't time for jokes, let's go."

"But it's what I do best!"

The pair got up to leave and almost as soon as they began to walk, they realized they were surrounded, "Ghouls?" Boone asked

"No, ferals don't use weapons like that. Or at all" These creatures were bone-white and wearing what appeared to be armor, holding what were more splints of metal than actual swords. "There are a lot of them, I can only punch so much!"

"We'll do what we can." Boone already lined up a shot and took out three of them with a single shot. Veronica began rushing the crowd, using her power fist to smash several limbs and skulls. But the horde was closing in what could they do?

That is, until sharp tendrils came from the ground holding the several of the monsters in place and crushing others. The pair turned to see two others, a man and a woman, thin with pointed ears, one with a staff, another with a large sword.

"Fenris! There are other people here! They need our help."

"Yes, but first we deal with the darkspawn."

"Darkspawn?" Veronica asked herself, assuming that was what the creatures were called. But there was little time for thought, as the four continued to fight on, eventually defeating the monsters. Finally the four had time to talk.

"What are darkspawn doing this far from the Deep Roads?" The girl asked.

"I'm not even sure how far we are, this place looks like it's had a fair share of blight."

"Um, excuse me, could someone explain what's going on?" Veronica asked, "Start from who you are, and work your way up to what the hell a darkspawn is."

"I could ask you the same, especially given the twisted abominations I've had to deal with today. But, I suppose I'll start, I am called Fenris."

"And I am Merrill, pleased to meet you!" the girl added.

"Well, nice to meet you too! Anyway, I'm Veronica, and this is Boone. He's not big on small talk. And now that we all know each other, can you please give me some answers? Are you two mutants? Ghouls? Some undocumented beings?"

"Try elves."

"Haha! Elves? Like in Taeles of Chivalrie? You're joking! You've got to be…oh, you're serious, aren't you?"

"Believe me, you're not the only ones lost. I'm curious about the strange weapons you are using, but what seems to have become of this world is more pressing."

"Not to mention the creatures we saw when we woke up, horned lizards walking on two feet, with gigantic claws! I wanted to take one of the babies as a pet."

"And you nearly got us killed. The mother was rather cross with us."

Veronica chimed in again, "I take it you guys have never seen a deathclaw before. But not many people can say they've survived an angry deathclaw mother. But I'm still confused, I'm not going to assume we're stuck in another world because stuff from our world is here too. Actually, I'm pretty sure we just ripped the universe a new one."

"A new one? A new what?" Merril asked.

"Please don't tell me my idioms and slang are lost on you, they're all I've got! Well, those and my power fist."

"I'm sorry, did you just say that monster was called a 'deathclaw?" Fenris asked perplexed, "Appropriately named as it is, I'm curious as to how it came to be."

"Well, when a mommy deathclaw and a daddy deathclaw love eachother—"

Boone suddenly looked to the distance and spoke for the first time since they were rescued. "It's not safe to keep talking here. We need to find some landmarks we recognize and get to somewhere secure."

"Alright, but a lot of the Mojave's rocky terrain looks the same I don't think…is that Black Mountain?"

"I was sure it was Sundermount, it's the only really big mountain around here." Merrill said, "But they…they don't like me very much there."

"That's an understatement."

"Well I'm sure there's a story there, but that will be for later, if that's Black Mountain, then Hidden Valley is right by it, and you'll find nowhere safer besides the Lucky 38, which for one reason or another is not visible on the horizon at the moment...there's another city in the way…weird"

"Let's go then."

The walk toward the mountain allowed more freedom to talk. "Okay, so what the hell is a darkspawn? Because it felt like there was no end to those things." Veronica asked

Fenris answered, "Creatures that come from the Deep Roads during the blights, but for some reason are appearing now after whatever the hell happened here."

"Okay, remember? Not from around here? To me, you are just making words up."

Fenris sighed, "They're a series of underground tunnels, which once belonged to the dwarves-"

"There are dwarves too?"

"If you would give me just ten seconds, I could explain a lot more! You don't hear me asking about your bizarre gauntlet, or whatever that 'rifle' thing is."

"Fine, whatever, go on."

"So a blight is when the darkspawn decide to show up on the surface, and wreak havoc, with the help of a demon. Yes there are demons too."

"Well that helps, sort of. I have to say, for a broody stoic type, you definitely can keep up the snark. Boone could learn a thing or two. And it looks like we're nearing Black Mountain."

"Do your people always name your landmarks so plainly?" Merrill asked.

"Well, it doesn't have the appeal of 'Sundermount' but it's a name that's been around for long before I was born, so that's what I'm going to call it. Last I checked that place was crawling with Super Mutants."

"Now who's making words up?" Fenris added.

"Look, when you get a sledgehammer to the face, you'll get to see just how 'made up' they are. But let's take a step back, Merrill was it? What's with that stick you have? Some kind of new energy weapon? It does some crazy stuff, like I've never seen."

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure what an energy weapon is. But this is my staff, it channels my magic."

"Whoa, let's back up a second, first elves, dwarves, demons, now magic? What kind of fantasy world did we end up in?"

"Believe me, whoever fantasizes about this world must be truly disturbed indeed." Fenris replied, "A world with no magic, now that's something I could see myself enjoying."

"Well, it's not the greatest thing where we come from either, but we make do. You guys do magic like we do technology, and it can be just as dangerous I'm guessing."

"You wouldn't even know."

"I came from a world where at one point they made explosives that could level a whole city. My family raised me to believe all technology is evil. Yes I might just have a little idea."

"What about you world Veronica?" Merrill asked, "We've told you so much and we know so little. I'm still curious about deathclaws!"

"You are so unbelievably cheery it's adorable. Boone could learn from you too." As Veronica spoke, Boone muttered under his breath and pretended not to listen.

Veronica continued, "Well, you know those bombs? They release massive radiation, which is pretty much heat, and it caused many normal animals to become monsters." Veronica said, without skipping a beat. "Well, this was a fun talk at least, it's helped calm me down. We can talk more when we get to Hidden Valley, which should be…what the fuck?" They'd reached Hidden Valley…sort of. It was at the base of the mountain, as Veronica remembered, and the bunkers were there, but at the center was a small encampment, with more elves.

"So it is Sundermount! But why are there metal boxes sticking out of the ground everywhere?" Merrill asked.

"More elves…but there's Brotherhood too. What's going on?" The group moved in closer to learn more, but was interrupted, "Why have you returned? And you bring more shemlen?" another elf approached them, focused on Merrill.

"Fenarel, there is no time for this. Whatever these boxes, or 'bunkers' as Veronica calls them are doing here, these people know something about it."

"This doesn't change anything, we cast you out for your betrayal, you are not permitted—"

"Hey, we're not done here!" Supreme Paladin Hardin walked up to the elves, "What the hell are you doing at our bunker? And give me one good reason not to shoot you!"

"I could say the same to you shemlen, I could have an arrow through your head before you have time to put that helmet on!"

"Hardin, what's going on here? Nothing is where it should be!"

"Well apparently, these elves think they can come into our stronghold and do as they please."

"We were were here first human."

"Paladin Hardin! Stand down!" Elder McNamara appeared from the bunker with an elderly elven woman.

"Calm yourself da'len. Now is not the time for conflict, our world may face a much greater threat." As the woman spoke, Merrill's eyes began to well up, "Keeper? But how?"

"My visit to the beyond seems to have been a brief one, whatever happened has brought these two worlds together, the Free Marches and this 'Mojave' are one, and while I do not have a full grasp of the circumstances, I know the Fade has shaken, allowing souls to return to the living world. I feel my return may be temporary, however. When the worlds return to their rightful positions, as will I."

"Okay, now _you guys_ are making words up. I'm lost again."

"The Fade is where all the dead must pass to reach the afterlife, Keeper Marethari died at my hand, because I was too stupid to listen to her. I knew her return couldn't be that simple. In the end your blood is still on my hands"

"Now is not the time to despair child, we must work to fix this, there is no telling of what will happen when two physical realms overlap."

"I-I'm sorry, this is all too much to take in right now I…I need to lie down." Merrill put her hand to her head, feeling feverish, there was more to this than a few new monsters.

"Yeah, me too, I'm sorry, I'm not equipped to understand all this magic stuff!" then, Veronica turned to Elder McNamara and asked, "Elder, I don't understand, what's going on?"

"Some time ago, our scribes noticed an unusual energy signature from the Lucky 38, not long after a light filled the bunker and we awoke to find ourselves here, new landmarks popped up in spaces that were once empty, grass growing in an area where it hadn't even grown before the war. Then I'm hearing something about 'magical anomalies' which confuses me as much as it does anyone else."

"Well, while I'm still completely lost, it helps to see a friendly face." Veronica said, "But that doesn't explain how Boone and I got launched halfway across the Mojave…or Free Marches…or wherever this is now. We were all with the Courier at the Lucky 38 when this happened."

"It was a transport device." Boone said suddenly.

"What?"

"Remember, the Courier brought a transport device from the Big Empty, it must have messed up when Rex bit it. We may not be the only ones lost."

"I feel as though this is very similar to what happened to us." Fenris said.

Elder McNamara spoke again, "How about we go into the bunker to discuss it. I think you could give us more information."


	2. Chapter 2

**Lowtown, City of Kirkwall, Time and Date Unknown**

"Lucky 38? What the hell is that? And how did it get here?" Varric and Anders witnessed a massive tower surrounded by metal walls appear just outside the city gates, walls big enough to house another city. What's more, the Chantry was back in place, as if the last day had been completely erased. "Looks like you got a second chance Blondie, whatever happened fixed whatever you broke, I wouldn't try it again."

"But I don't understand, it's not just the chantry, if we went backwards, Meredith would be back, and she's missing, as is Orsino. And Hawke is nowhere to be found."

"I'm sure Hawke is just fine. Besides, we've got another problem, those two guys we found at the docks sound like they might know something. Let's get back to the Hanged Man.

Back at the Hanged Man, Arcade attempted to wake Raul, who seemed incapacitated by the blast, "Come on Raul, we've got to figure this out, I know you're not dead."

"Give me a break, boss, I'm old. Old and rotting, and I need to sleep."

"Yes, rotting, in a place that has no concept of what a ghoul is. I've been convincing everyone you're a burn victim. Now get up, Anders and Varric will be back soon, and we need to either get out of here or figure out what's going on."

"Like why it appeared outside Vegas? Or how we got here from the Lucky 38? Or…Arcade, you brought ED-E too?" Raul noticed a deactivated ED-E sitting on a nearby table.

"Against my better judgment, it broke in the blast, but the Courier wouldn't be happy if I left it lying around."

"Well, looks like the patient's awake," Varric came back with Anders "How's your friend doing Doc?"

"Looks like he's back on his feet, maybe we can figure this out now. Also, Doc? Really?"

"It's your nickname. I've got one for everyone, well, almost everyone. We really should get to know each other first before we get to the big questions, I'll let you start, Doc."

"Alright, I'm Arcade Gannon, I'm a doctor with a group called the Followers of the Apocalypse, based out of Freeside. It's part of the city that appeared on your doorstep. We try to use our tech to help those in need, and only wish for peace."

"Wow, you sound like Blondie here, back before he got all broody. What about your friend here?"

"Name's Raul Tejada, I'm just a humble repairman who may or may not participate in the proud sport of bandit hunting."

"So we've got a doctor and a vigilante? How'd you two end up anywhere near eachother?" Anders asked

"We'd both been working with someone we all called the Courier, we'd all been working on a plan to bring independence to New Vegas, our home, amidst a war between three factions."

"And that's pretty much us in a nutshell, boss. How about you?"

"Well, I'm Varric Tethras, marksman, storyteller, and businessman extraordinaire. I've had something to do with every major event in this city for the past seven years."

Arcade shook his head and said, "It's good to see someone so humble."

"Varric does tend to embellish the truth a bit, but it gets us what we need." Anders said, "I'm Anders, I work as a healer, and once served as a Gray Warden…which now I realize means absolutely nothing to you."

"So another doctor then…and, well yeah, I don't know what a Gray Warden is. Just so we're clear, you're a dwarf? Like in the story books I read as a kid? Between that and all the magic stuff, this world is just too weird."

"Right, this from the man whose weapon shoots out searing hot balls of light. Not to mention that…what is that, some kind of golem you've got there? ED-E was it? Well, I like to name my toys too, meet Bianca." Varric proceeded to put his crossbow on the table.

"Interesting, it looks like it's a little more advanced than crossbows I've seen."

"That's dwarven craftsmanship for you."

"I'm beginning to see the split here, this is what the world would be if magic had existed, if technology hadn't become the driving force. To be honest I thought you people were primitive, but it couldn't be farther from the truth."

"A world without magic? That means no demons, no Fade…no templars. It would be like a dream!" Anders' face lit up.

"While I don't appreciate the 'warm welcome' the templars gave us as we entered the city, I've seen far worse zealots. The Enclave, Caesar's Legion, The Brotherhood of Steel, all of them have an agenda to push and would stop at nothing to get it."

"I've gotta say boss, I'm not one to talk politics, so let's figure out where we are and how we got here."

"Right, well, we know we were in the Lucky 38 when the Courier brought back the transporter…then Rex bit into it and…the easiest conclusion I've ever come to."

"Really? Because I've been given damaged tech before and it usually just breaks after that. It doesn't usually smash two universes together."

"We live in a world where we took orders from a giant computer, mutated fish men climb out of water to kill you and gangs worship an old world pop culture symbol, and this is what ends your suspension of disbelief?"

"I've gotta say Raul, your pal here has a point, even if it makes no sense to me. Especially since we had a rather important magical artifact break here too, something tells me that's no coincidence."

"What so I don't get a snappy nickname?"

"You'll get one, just wait."

**Hightown, City of Kirkwall**

"If one of you doesn't give me some fucking answers, there's gonna be a big empty space where your head was!" Cass was more than a little drunk

Aveline paced around the barracks, still coming to terms with what apparently was a clean erase of the past 24 hours, but now she had bigger problems to deal with, and it wasn't going to get any easier, "Guard Captain! We've got a situation outside!"

"What is it guardsman?"

"A woman is raging through the streets accompanied by what looks like an ogre, I think she may be an apostate, her weapon makes a loud bang accompanied by shards of metal and the smell of black powder."

"Guardsman, if this is some kind of joke I will have you know I am not in the mood."

"It's not a joke, just come see it for yourself.

"If one of you doesn't give me some fucking answers, there's gonna be a big empty space where your head was!" Cass, after waking up in an unfamiliar territory decided to have a some whiskey to take the edge of, and was now raging through Hightown.

"Miss, if you would just put down your weapon we could talk about this." Donnic said, hoping to calm the situation.

"Cassie dear, you should listen to the nice guardsman, you don't want to hurt yourself." Lily said.

"That thing can speak?" One of the guards said, shocked.

"Of course she can speak, have you fuckheads never seen a mutant before? They're all over the place!"

"Cassie dear, you should really watch you language."

"Lily, I really don't have time for this!"

"If you don't calm down, Leo's going to get riled up. And that's not good for anyone."

"You know what? Fuck you, and fuck Leo, and fuck everyone else in this fucking town! Give me someone who's in charge!"

"Quite a mouth on this one, yes?" Aveline said coming down the steps from the keep, shield up, "I'm Aveline Vallen, Captain of the Guard and the closest thing to an authority figure that isn't either dead or missing, and I would say you'd have better luck talking to me than the templars."

Cass stood there, gun at the ready for some time, she then relaxed her arm and put the gun away, "Alright, I'm good, come on Lily, let's go."

Back inside the barracks, Aveline brought Cass into here office, each had questions for the other.

"I'll answer whatever you want, just tell me where the fuck I am."

"This is the town of Kirkwall, in the Free Marches, or it was, with this Lucky 38 that appeared I have no idea if everything is as it should be."

"Second, they were calling me an apostate, what the hell is that?"

"Essentially a mage that doesn't follow rules."

"Hold on? A mage? Like a wizard? Exactly how backwards are you guys? Have you never seen a gun before?"

"A gun?"

"Yeah, as in this weapon in my hands? Pull the trigger, some stuff happens, causes some gunpowder to ignite, sending bits of metal down a tube toward whatever you point it at?"

"So it's a more advanced crossbow?"

"Sure why not? And back to the wizards, you guys actually believe in that shit?"

"Believe it? We live it, something tells me we're not hitting on a key point here. Between your strange weapon and lack of knowledge of the customs here. Honestly, I have no idea where you come from, but it can't be legal to point weapons at law enforcement there either."

"Legal's a sketchy term in the wasteland."

"The wasteland?"

"Yeah, you know, those dead patches of land that clash with your lush green fields? The sad looking desert plants? The broken, dilapidated roads? Sounds like a wasteland to me. And now that we're clear on that, I'm sure you have all sorts of questions."

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"You're being awfully calm about it."

"As captain of the guard I have to keep this up so my men don't get discouraged. Believe me, I'm as lost as you are."

"Well, I'd be too if a shiny future city popped up on my doorstep, or in my case, this primitive hunk of rock."

"This 'primitive hunk of rock' is my home, and you'd do best to respect that."

"Whoa! Let's not get testy, I've got you some answers. Lucky 38, right? It's a hotel and casino, centerpiece of New Vegas."

"So the Lucky 38, it's just a gambling hall?"

"It was, or might've been at some point, now it's almost a fortress. From there Mr. House watched over it, enforcing some sort of law. Granted he's got nothing against drinking and whores."

"Sounds like a fun place to be," Isabela randomly interjected, "Might need to take a vacation."

"Isabela, how did you get in here?"

"Just said I had an important message for the captain, some of your guards are pretty thick. Besides, I wanted to meet the mysterious new girl that's making waves all across Hightown"

"I guess I went a little overboard, I've built up a reputation. Anyway, your money's no good there, gold's pretty much just shiny rocks in the Mojave. After the world ends most people get more practical. Does anyone have anymore whiskey?"

"I already love this girl! Aveline, can we keep her?"

"Just one thing I don't get is, your Kirkwall is coastal, while the Mojave's a desert, it's landlocked. Something doesn't add up and I don't like it. Especially since it means Caesar's is floating in the middle of the ocean somewhere even more impregnable than before. And God only knows what happened to the dam."

"Well I'm lost again, Aveline, anything else?"

"Another worry I have is your friend, the 'mutant,' is she going to be trouble?"

"Nah, Lily's harmless! Well, as long as she takes her meds at least. Don't worry, I can keep her under control."

"I'll hold you to that. If something goes wrong, it's on you."

"Hate to interrupt again, oh who am I kidding, I love interrupting! I remember now, I did have an important message for you. There's some templars arguing with some soldiers dressed in a lovely shade of brown."

Cass stood up, "NCR maybe? The hell are they doing here?"

Out in the courtyard outside the keep, NCR soldiers and templars were at a disagreement, "We demand to know your intentions at once, stand down or face consequences."

"You come into our home and expect us to stand down, Kirkwall does not take well to foreign invaders."

"Invaders? Your city just appears next to ours and you expect us to believe it was here the whole time?"

"What the hell is going on here?" Aveline came storming down the steps, Cass, Isabela, and Lily following behind.

"Leo says these soldiers need to be taught a lesson!"

"Lily, tell Leo to chill long enough for us to take care of this."

The templar in charge of the group spoke, "Guard Captain I demand you arrest these ruffians at once!"

The NCR leader then spoke, "Are you the law enforcement around here? Because I need some answers!"

"Is anyone else getting the strangest feeling of déjà vu?" Cass said.

"Technically my power only goes so far, but I can assure you this will all be explained in due time. This is surely a misunderstanding."

"Now that would be a story to tell, Vegas and Kirkwall, two cities appear next to eachother by some anomaly, and they go to war."

"Varric? What are you doing here?"

"Just passing through, and apparently reuniting some friends."

"Arcade! Raul!" Cass exclaimed, "You two are alright."

"Not gonna let a little universal hiccup kill us." Arcade replied.

"Yeah, I may be old, but I'm not dead yet."

Then Arcade continued, "But why are NCR soldiers here? You guys are beyond your jurisdiction."

"After the death of Robert House the NCR has taken it upon themselves to police the Mojave Region. And your city seems to have become part of the Mojave."

"Hate to disappoint partner, but Mr. House is still alive and kickin'!"

"Victor! How'd you get reactivated? We made sure you shut up for good!" Cass said, pointing her shotgun at the lone Securitron, meanwhile citizens and templars watched the machine in confused panic.

"What the hell is that thing? Another one of those 'robots'?" Varric asked, even he couldn't believe what he was saying.

"I just needed to jump to a new model, and with Mr. House back in commission, he can send me to deliver a message" Victor's face changed to House's, and the message played, "Attention NCR soldiers, return to your posts at once or be forced to return to California…wherever that may be with the present geography. This is a clear breach of your treaty. And, a warm greeting to all citizens of Kirkwall, your Knight-Commander has told me much about you, and she would like all templars to come meet her at the Lucky 38."

"You must be joking, the Knight Commander has been missing for some time, and I can't believe she would just wander off to your twisted abomination of a city."

"Believe what you will, just deliver my message to whoever is second in command, I have work to do and can't be sending her to meet you, at least not yet."

After some protest, the NCR soldiers and templars went their separate ways, leaving the scattered heroes to ponder, "Meredith is alive? But who else is? And how much do they remember?" Anders asked, worried.

"You lucked out Anders, your crimes seem to have been erased for now, and without any evidence I can't deliver a punishment, but I'll see to it you pay for your crimes." Aveline replied.

"Your crimes?" Arcade asked, "What did you do?"

"Doc, that's not really something you need to know right now. We need to worry about Meredith, if she's alive, how much does she remember? And will she be back to rule Kirkwall? We might have to do some things over again."

"House is alive? We're fucked. There's nothing stopping him from sending his Securitron cronies to murder every last one of us!" Cass said.

"I wonder if there are any rules to this whole revival thing, like how far back it goes, and who it affects…" Raul questioned.

"First Enchanter Orsino seems completely oblivious to his death, while every time I've seen Thrask he's looking around surprised. And if Thrask is here, Grace might be too, which could be trouble." Aveline added.

"So Orsino's alive too?"

"Yes, but Cullen's been very secretive about it. As have the templars. After Meredith's last stunt, I've been keeping tabs on them."

The conversation was interrupted by a lone Brotherhood Paladin, "Excuse me? I've come seeking the friends of Veronica Santangelo and an elf named Merrill. Another elf named Fenris and Craig Boone are also currently at our base in what was once Hidden Valley"

**Lucky 38 Penthouse, New Vegas, Shortly after the shift**

Meredith awoke in an unfamiliar room, the last thing she remembered was being defeated by Hawke, "What happened after? And where am I?"

"Welcome to the Lucky 38, Meredith."

Meredith turned to see a man's face looking down on her from a glass screen, "What sort of sorcery is this? I demand to know who you are and why you've brought me here."

"A contingency I hadn't expected but already planned for, my own death at the hands of a subordinate, and becoming part of a twisted amalgamation of my world and another, less than a 1% chance, but sometimes I have a knack for these things. Now, I need a new subordinate, one with power in this world and an army of their own, but lacking the computer skills to kill me a second time."

"Your words confound me creature, and they give no answers."

"You'll understand soon enough, I've absorbed enough knowledge from this world to know you want revenge too now, someone named Hawke?"

"How did you…? You'd best answer me, abomination! How do you know so much?"

"I am simply the most advanced piece of technology known to man. This has given me the ability to store massive amounts of information, far more than your primitive mind can understand."

"Well, you're clearly not of this world, but you know of it?

"When you get into your second century of life, your own universe begins to bore you. I wished to branch out, and found one so radically different from my own. But I could never reach it, only observe. It was a side project, watching your people build in a completely different direction. It was so amazing, and now it is in my grasp, I just need your help."

"I'll listen, but I can't guarantee I'll help."


	3. Chapter 3

**First 2 chapters have been tweaked a bit, those who've read them before may want to reread, granted the plot hasn't changed too much.**

**Templar Hall, City of Kirkwall**

"I'm telling you! I'm not undead! I'm alive, a living, breathing human being." Thrask had recently been found by his fellow templars.

"Ser Thrask, even if I could believe that, you still attempted to start an uprising, and should be punished for that. For the time being, we will only lock you up. If we need to we will not hesitate to kill you again. Good day." Knight-Captain Cullen had his hands full, between that bizarre creature's call out to his fellow templars, insisting Meredith was with them, another who he saw die, he just didn't know what to believe. The last days events seemed to vanish, were they even real?

He stepped out to address the templars, "As long as Meredith is gone, I command the templars, and I won't have them entering uncharted territory to chase ghosts. For the time being, we will peacefully coexist with this 'New Vegas." He then thought to himself, _"But what was that thing? A golem maybe? It spoke like a man, and even changed its voice and face. And still no viscount to control this nonsense."_

It seemed among the alleged returning dead, Viscount Dumar was not one of them, nor anyone who wasn't recently killed. The fact that Grace was nowhere to be found left Cullen wary. A dangerous blood mage with a taste for revenge was not someone he wanted missing. Orsino had been locked up as well until the situation could be determined, and his existence kept in secret. "As much as I hate to admit it, I may need the Champion's help."

**Hightown, City of Kirkwall**

"What the hell are you doing?" Arcade shouted, unexpectedly at the lone paladin, "You're marching in here in full power armor, terrorizing the populace the whole way, I bet."

"I'd mind my tongue if I were you, we know about your history with the Enclave. Your friendship with Veronica and the Courier is the only reason we don't shoot you on sight."

"Once again, city full of confused civilians who don't know what firearms are."

"Would you two quit waving your dicks around?" Cass felt the need to interject, "Arcade, I walked in here with a super mutant, and you with Raul, I don't think we've got room to talk. I think we should leave, people are staring."

"Now, now, stop fighting dearies, we should listen to the nice Paladin." Lily added in.

"That thing can talk?" Varric took a step back, his eyes wide, "Now I've seen everything."

Isabela worked to calm the crowd, "Um…uh, rehearsing for a play! Don't mind us, some pretty silly costumes, huh? Yes, yes, about a kindly grandmotherly ogre and her templar grandson…from the future!"

"Let's…let's just leave."

Outside of Kirkwall, the group began to see what had become of the world at large. Kirkwall had landed somewhere east of Vegas, the ocean replacing the land up until the Colorado River, and the streets outside of the walls of Freeside clashing with the fields and mountains around Kirkwall.

Anders could hardly believe his eyes "By the Maker, what happened here? It's like the world has ended, like the blight has taken the land itself."

"It's an improvement for us, if you can believe that." Cass responded

"An improvement? The land itself has died!"

"Actually it's just a desert, we don't get too many plants in the Mojave, and I think it was like that even before the bombs dropped. Still, it's nice to see some greenery somewhere besides Jacobstown. I'm curious as to how the two biomes can be interwoven like that." Arcade added. Carrying ED-E under his arm.

"I've seen deserts before, they don't look this grim!"

"Before the bombs dropped? Is that some sort of saying from your world?" Isabela asked.

"Well, like I said, the Mojave has really been just a wasteland for a long time. But Vegas itself used to be even more lively than it is now. A city of vice and debauchery mostly."

"My two favorite things!"

"Well, in our world, unlike yours, technology advanced to the point where man could make explosives that could destroy a city and could be dropped from the sky."

"You expect me to believe this nonsense? I've been taking you all at your word for some time, but who would be evil enough to build something like that?" Aveline asked, shocked.

"I was alive at the time," Raul said, "Lost my family because of it, it wasn't about good or evil, just a matter of necessity. Our enemies had them, so did our country. We all thought it would keep everyone in check."

"Anyway, sometime about 200 years ago in our world's time, a war broke out that pretty much laid waste to most of civilization as we know it. Leading to the stunning 'scorched earth' look you see before you."

"I'm sorry, back up, 200 years?" Isabela asked, "Then how was Raul even there?"

"That's a story for another time, señorita"

"Well, I've got to say Lucky, given the circumstances, you look good for your age." Varric added.

"Lucky? Oh I get it, it's ironic."

"Exactly. Also, I'm actually curious now, I'm assuming your country doesn't have an ocean in the middle of it. What do you think became of the rest of it?"

"I don't know actually." Arcade responded. "We're at the western edge of things, everything before what was once a river was only the westernmost edge, less than a quarter of the total landmass, not to mention other parts of the continent that we don't know about."

"I think I need to sit and think for a moment." Aveline said, "This whole thing is getting to be too much to fathom. I needed to put on a strong face for my guardsmen, but this world is just too horrible."

"I might have to disagree, big girl, this is a world with no rules, and very little government, a world where everyone is truly free to choose what they do." Isabela said, "Plus that whole vice and debauchery thing. When it's all said and done, I might take my chances with their world instead."

"If we have time, I'll take you up to Gomorrah and we'll have us a good time."

"Cass, you are too kind!"

Aveline rubbed her eyes, "Great, now there's two of them."

The paladin, who hadn't said a word up to this point, stopped and spoke "We've got trouble!" Energy from a plasma caster rained down on them.

"What the hell!" Cass shouted. As they dived out of the way

A Man shouted from nearby, "It's about time we settled things, Cassidy!"

"Cutting! You sadistic son of a bitch! Me and the Courier each put a bullet in your brain. We settled things weeks ago!"

"And now I'm back! I don't know how, but now I'm gonna finish my job and McLafferty will pay me what she owes! Alright boys, do what you do best!"

Men wielding energy weapons, wearing combat armor approached, "What's the plan?" Raul asked, "They've all got energy weapons, and half of our guys have just seen guns for the first time."

"It's pretty simple." Anders said.

"How so?" Arcade asked.

"You showed us what makes your world unique," He began to give off a blue glow, "Now we show what does for us."

A wave of his staff and lightning began to rain down on the Van Graff thugs, injuring some, killing others. It distracted the enemy, the heroes saving their awe for later got a chance to charge in. Isabela tossed a miasmic flask, stunning a group of stragglers and letting Raul get off 3 headshots. Lily charged a lone thug, unfazed by his plasma rifle. One of the others, still cowering from the lightning, met his end at Aveline's blade.

"Alright guys, nice work!" Cass shouted, "Show these punks a thing or—argh!" A blast from Cutting's plasma caster hit her hard, "Looks like this is-" but not hard enough, Cass turned and blasted him with her shotgun three times. "And stay dead this time!" With that, Cass fell to the ground, the pain was a bit too much.

"Cass!" Arcade shouted, frantically searching the pockets of his lab coat, "No good, all my stimpaks are back at the Lucky 38."

"She got hit pretty bad, boss. I don't know if we can get her very far."

"Well, Blondie, time to show them what you can do."

"Exactly what can you do?" Arcade asked

"Just watch." Anders kneeled down and placed his hands over Cass' burns, light came from his hands and the burns disappeared in seconds.

Raul and Arcade watched in awe, "That was the single most amazing thing I've ever seen," Arcade said, "The Followers could benefit from something like that. Where did you learn that?"

"No 'learning' about it, a lot of training, but magic is something you're born with."

"There's that magic thing again." Cass said weakly, "This has got to be the weirdest shit I've ever seen. Care to help me up, 'Blondie'?" Anders lifted Cass up, afterwards she could walk on her own.

"You know, you can't just go throwing my nicknames around, that's my job."

"Right, I'll remember that."

**Hidden Valley Bunker**

"Hey Merrill, you okay in there?" Merrill hadn't left her new bed in the barracks since they got there, Veronica began to worry.

Merrill was sitting on the bed, staring into space, she looked up on reaction to Veronica's voice, "Oh, hello Veronica, do you need anything?"

"Just checking in, got worried about you." Veronica sat down next to Merrill, "You haven't left this room since we got here."

Merrill laughed, "A kindness for a complete stranger, you're too nice. Sorry for worrying you, this has all just been too much to take."

"I know what you mean, I still can't get my head around it, and the elder's just as lost. And I can't even imagine what you're going through."

"I haven't spoken to Keeper Marethari since we returned. What could I say? I could apologize all day and it wouldn't be enough."

"Well, what happened? How did she die?"

"Well…let me ask you this, does your Brotherhood ever do things you find yourself questioning? Not, in any morally reprehensible way of course…I mean, unless they do, then…I'll shut up now."

"Actually, it's like you're reading my mind! Well, except the morally reprehensible part. The Brotherhood is that 'family' I told you about. They want to make sure no one gets their hands on technology, because of what became of our world. But I think we should embrace it, we can't just let go of the past."

"We really do speak the same language. I thought the same thing, I had been working to repair a mirror, the Eluvian. It was important to our history, I'd made deals with a demon to fix it."

"Demons too, huh? This world's got everything."

"Our magic and your technology have the same consequences if one is not careful enough. But I didn't care, I was foolish and tried to help the demon into our world, and the keeper chose to take it into herself to save me." Tears began to well up in Merrill's eyes, it was hard to relive it, "She sacrificed herself, all for me, to kill the demon we had to kill her. It was all for me, the one who abandoned her clan. It was a price I was willing to pay and she took it instead." Merrill stopped and just sat there for a while, "And now she's back, like it never happened, but it did. We all know what happened, and how can I face her after that? And if she is to return to the Fade, I cannot just wait until she does and not say a word."

Veronica put a hand on Merrill's shoulder, "Hey, look, what's done is done. I mean, it's not too often you have to say 'sorry I killed you,' but after apologizing, what more can you do? Your Keeper seems nice enough, I'm sure you can talk to her. You made some poor choices, but why dwell on them?"

"Well, I guess that helps, Thanks Veronica. I really wish Hawke were here though. They always knew what to say to help me through tough times."

"Oh! So Hawke's someone special to you?"

"Well, you could say that."

"Well, I'll ask for juicy details later. Hopefully you can find your way." Veronica made her way to the door, "And Merrill, just a tip, it never hurts to question the rules, but don't let it consume you. Someone close to me lost himself in an obsession like that, it cost him his life."

"Believe me, I won't be doing it again. I made sure of that."

"Oooh! Cryptic!" With that, Veronica made her way out of the barracks, and ran into Paladin Ramos, "Veronica, I think your friends are here."

Outside the bunker, the other group was carrying on, "Rose of Sharon? That sounds too complicated, like you couldn't settle on either Rose or Sharon." Varric said.

"See, that's why I go by Cass, because of people like you."

"Now now Rosy, you don't need to get in my face about it."

"Of course not, I'd have to bend over."

"You wouldn't hear me complaining." Isabela added.

"I'm sure Cass would oblige you after enough drinks." Arcade replied.

"Hey, cut the crap, Arcade." Cass said.

"I'd know that voice anywhere! Cass!" Veronica said, surprising Cass with a hug.

"So that's why you've ignored my advances, who's this little cutie?"

"Oh for the love of…forget it, nice to see you too Veronica."

"I'm so glad you're all alive! And I'm guessing the people dressed like they belong in Taeles of Chivalrie are some of Merrill's friends?"

"This one's pretty sharp, assuming she's talking about us." Varric said.

"Alright, then we can…where's the Courier?"

"Well…we really don't know." Arcade replied, "Can't find Rex either, I'm hoping they're together. And looks like ED-E got a little banged up too."

"We'll just have to fix him up then, everyone inside, we've got a lot to talk about."


End file.
